Artists statement

This painting is one of my key early works incorporating the Baroque dualities of theatrical drama and inner emotional worlds. Interpreting the Baroque subject of the Sacred and the Profane, the swirling diagonal composition of crossed figures, transparent and billowing drapery in contrasting colours and dramatically tense gestures, in this work combine to suggest both religious ecstacy and physical sensuality.

The glade is portrayed as white light. It is the open space for the drama. One face gazes ambiguously at the viewer, questioning, whether she is - the willing but (guarded OR mysterious?) seductress the title suggests.

Julie Watkins, 2015

Historical information

Julie WATKINS (1949- )

In 1969 Julie Watkins completed an Associateship Diploma Fine Art-Painting at RMIT, and a Fellowship Diploma of Fine Art-Painting the year after. In 1973 she was awarded a Diploma of Education at Hawthorn State College.

Julie Watkins worked as a TAFE teacher from1973 to 1978, then as a tutor for the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at RMIT between 1979 and 1992. Between the years 2003 to 2003 she was a tutor at the University of Melbourne (Victorian College of the Arts.

This item is part of the Federation University Art Collection. The Art Collection features over 2000 works and was listed as a 'Ballarat Treasure' in 2007.

Physical description

Acrylic on stretched canvas